Masters of the trade

The Registered Master Builders Federation keeps going from strength to strength, says John Sheriff, president of the Auckland Master Builders Association.

A registered master builder for 10 years and member of the executive for six years, Mr Sheriff says over that time he has seen public awareness of the association increase dramatically.

"Seven to eight years ago the public awareness of master builders was around 20 to 30 per cent. That awareness has now increased to a huge 97 per cent."

He attributes this mainly to television exposure. "As well as having a strong advertising campaign, the House of the Year television programme has been a great opportunity to showcase the benefits of employing a registered master builder."

The Master Build Guarantee is also gaining wide recognition, he says.

"I have heard of some cases where people having their home built request only registered master builders for the tendering process, because of the guarantee they offer."

Mr Sheriff says the guarantee has "big benefits" for home owners. Firstly, it ensures the project will be completed if, for some reason, the builder is unable to finish their work.

The guarantee also means that if any of the materials fail prematurely they will be replaced and any workmanship defects will be promptly fixed.

"It is not of course just home owners who benefit from having a master builder do their work - there are huge bonuses for builders who become registered."

There is a "slight lull" in the building industry, due to uncertainty with Government policies, he says. Yet membership of the association is "constantly increasing as builders realise the benefits of having a nationwide body behind them."

Auckland entry numbers for the 2000 House of the Year have grown by over a third compared to last year. The Auckland association has six branches which cover from Cape Reinga to Mercer and the Coromandel Peninsula.

Mr Sheriff's role involves coordinating and communicating the needs of Auckland association members to the federation office in Wellington. He also runs his own construction company, Project Co-ordinators 2000 Ltd.

There is always the possibility, he says, that the house a master builder builds for a client will become New Zealand's supreme House of the Year. There are 22 Registered Master Builders Associations throughout the country and each one judges entries from its members on a local basis. The winners in each category are then put forward for regional judging.

The regional panels select the 48 finalists for the national awards, to be announced this month.